Whiskey and Ghosts

The ceiling fan hummed above Jessica as she sat in the dim light of the office, an untouched glass of whiskey in front of her. She had poured it out of habit, not because she wanted it. Or maybe she did. Lately, it was hard to tell.

The case files spread across the desk were a mess of names, places, and fragmented truths—fragments of herself. Project Prometheus. Vanguard Biotechnics. Mr. Black. The Lazarus Initiative. They all connected somehow, but the picture was still blurred, still beyond her grasp. The more they uncovered, the less she felt like she knew.

The moment Leanna entered, reality crashed back. She picked up the glass and downed it in one motion, feeling the burn before it settled into warmth.

“Jesus, Jess,” Leanna said from the doorway, arms crossed. “You gonna start your mornings like this now?”

Jessica rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. “It’s noon.”

Leanna gave her a knowing look and stepped inside. Olivia followed, carrying her laptop and two cups of coffee.

“We need to go over what we know,” Olivia said, placing one of the cups in front of Jessica as a peace offering. “No more chasing ghosts. We need a plan.”

Jessica exhaled sharply and ran a hand through her hair. “Fine. Lay it out.”

Leanna took a whiteboard marker and approached the wall. It was covered with a chaotic mind map of names, red strings, and dead ends. “Alright. We know Vanguard isn’t just one thing. It’s bigger than we ever imagined. Corporate, government, military. They aren’t just making super humans; they’re creating something… else.”

Jessica leaned back, arms crossed. “And we still don’t know why.”

Olivia tapped her laptop. “But we do know they’ve kept tabs on us from the beginning. Every move we make, they’re one step ahead.”

Jessica stared at the board, at her own name written in bold letters in the center. “We’re pawns in a bigger game.”

Leanna nodded. “And we don’t even know who the players are.”

Silence filled the room. Jessica clenched her jaw and pushed herself up from the chair. “I need to clear my head.”

Leanna narrowed her eyes. “Jess—”

“I’m taking a case.”

Olivia blinked. “What?”

Jessica grabbed her jacket. “Something normal. Something boring. A woman thinks her husband is cheating. I’ll take it.”

Leanna and Olivia exchanged a glance. Leanna was the first to speak. “Are you seriously taking on a case about infidelity right now?”

Jessica smirked. “We still have bills to pay, right?”

Leanna sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose the way she did when she was trying not to say something sharp. “You think chasing liars is going to fix what’s broken? You think pretending this is normal will make it real?”

Olivia shook her head. “Fine. But don’t pretend this is just about money.”

Jessica grabbed her keys and walked toward the door. “I’m just trying to remember what normal feels like.”

And with that, she was gone.

---

The bar smelled like old wood and salt air, a hole-in-the-wall joint where people went to disappear. Jessica slid into a seat at the counter and ordered a whiskey. She had already tailed the husband for most of the afternoon. He was a bank president with a predictable schedule. and routine stops at his mistress’s apartment. The wife was right; he was cheating. Case closed.

Or it should have been.

She glanced at the police chief at the other end of the bar, a man who looked like he belonged in an old noir film—grizzled but sharp. He looked like he could take a punch and still have a witty retort ready. He gave her a nod before turning back to his own drink.

Jessica wasn’t looking for anything. But she wasn’t looking to be alone, either.

---

The next morning, the husband and his mistress were found dead inside a locked room. Jessica stood outside the crime scene, watching as officers swarmed the upscale apartment complex. Leanna and Olivia had warned her that normal didn’t exist for them anymore.

Turns out, they were right.